The siege of Tanjore was a series of battles fought between forces of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, the Arcot State and the Rajah of Tanjore. The sieges took place after

Thuljaji Thuljaji Bhonsle (Marathi: तुळजाजी, also known as Tullasu Rasa) (1738–1787) was the eldest son of Pratap Singh and the ruler of Thanjavur Bhonsle dynasty from 1763 to 1773 and 1776 to 1787. He was a weak-hearted ruler despite ...

, the Rajah of Tanjore, provided fewer levies and money than the British had required him to and invaded lands claimed by the Arcot State.

History

From 1766 to 1769, the

, the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

, and the Arcot State (also known as the Carnatics) waged a war against the Kingdom of Mysore, a nation led by

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

. To fight Hyder's armies, the Anglo-Maratha-Carnatic alliance employed a large number of levied soldiers and mercenaries from various vassal and allied states. These states were also expected to provide financial aid to their allies. However, one of these states, the Rajdom of Tanjore, was noted as having provided a smaller contingent of forces during the Mysore War than other states had. It was also revealed that Thuljajil the Rajah of Tanjore, had been in communication with Hyder Ali; these actions earned the Raj the enmity of the British and the Arcots. In 1769, forces of the Rajdom of Tanjore invaded the tribal lands of the Marawars, which the Arcot State claimed were its subjects. The Nabob of the Arcot State,

Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Cha ...

, demanded that the Tanjors withdraw, but this request was rebuked. In response to this rejection, Wallajah contacted the British, who agreed to gather an army at Trichinopoly to drive out the Tanjore forces. The British forces were led by General

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, while the Carnatic forces were led by Wallajah's son. The allied army advanced on the city of Tanjore, and laid siege to the city on 22 September 1769. The besieging army succeeded in breaching the city's wall on 22 October, and plans were made to storm the city. However, the commander of the Carnatic army instead chose to negotiate with Thuljaji. On the evening before the assault was to take place, the Carantic commander informed Smith that the Rajah of Tanjore had surrendered. The British were insulted by the separate peace, but were able to remain in control of a border town that had captured during the conflict. One source records that 158 "europeans" and 281 "natives" were killed during the siege. Following the victory at Tanjore, the British army helped the Carnatics officially conquer the Marawar chiefs in 1772, whom the allies had recently liberated. In 1773, the Carnatics claimed that the Rajah of Tanjore had violated their treaty, and so the British and Carnatic forces returned to Tanjore and laid siege to the city a second time. The city walls were breached and stormed, resulting in the second fall of the city. Both the British and Carnatics won new concessions from the Rajah of Tanjore, who was later restored to his throne at the insistence of the East India Company.

References

{{reflist Conflicts in 1769 Conflicts in 1773